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Tuesday, February 7, 2006

As I got out of my van at the BWD offices this morning, a very het-up red-shouldered hawk flew into the giant sycamore that shades and protects our building, screaming its head off.

Eeeyah! Eeeyah!

Then, just as quickly it flew off. I was happy to receive such a heartfelt welcome to the office, though I suspect that the bird's mate may have been a more likely inspiration. A pair of red-shouldereds has nested in the nearby wetlands every year since we took possession of this building in 1992.

Redshoulders are the daytime equivalent to the barred owl. Both species prefer wet woodlands where they can find lots of frogs, snakes, toads, crayfish, and other water-loving prey items. We have a couple of pairs nesting on or near our farm. Hearing their in-flight screams is a real sign of spring for us.

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About Bill

Bill of the Birds

Bill Thompson III is the editor of Bird Watcher's Digest by day. He's also a keen birder, the author of many books, a dad, a field trip leader, an ecotourism consultant, a guitar player, the host of the "This Birding Life" podcast, a regular speaker/performer on the birding festival circuit, a gentleman farmer, and a fungi to be around. His North American life list is somewhere between 673 and 675. His favorite bird is the red-headed woodpecker. His "spark bird" was a snowy owl. He has watched birds in 25 countries and 44 states. But his favorite place to watch birds is on the 80-acre farm he shares with his wife, artist/writer Julie Zickefoose. Some kind person once called Bill "The Pied Piper of Birding" and he has been trying to live up to that moniker ever since.